New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-09-20
AgOTHEK GREAT DlSCOVERY.
DID JOHN SMITH WRITE LoSGFELLows
POEMSf


.c.pvyrr sTunY IN APPLIED DoSNELLY
rsfks Edftor Of The Trfoh"e
s,,. There arc in Longfeiow's poems certain vague
"a s,rrsstive lines which have often puzzled the
careful reader reiterations and illusions which can
hardly be the result OF chance With view
20 learning n possible, what meaning lay oehnd these
obscure hints have made careiui STUDY Oh Long
fellows poems and have discovered In them cIpher
Mt once SO plain and astonishing In It's purpo tns
feel that should be doing wrong to withhold u nom
the public IT Will be published In book forn' oV
subserp,on only In various styles Of binding In the
fail or winter In tho meantime have secured inc
perrn,sson Of my publishers to give brief account
of the singular sicry which Is concealed In tno Long
fellow poems Briefly tho hidden narrative -
follows:
A certain John Smith, professor Of mafhema'ios 70
q sn all college Tie nane Of the college WIZ 10
In my voIume wrote short poem "nion 'e0
him, to nossess some merit This poem he carr'eo "
Iongfeilow who man OF some h~rs''
.ns nro,essor Of English literature 1t Cambridge.
,nne,e.,ov was much pleased with tho poem a'
urged smith 10 publish t. smith rephed lhAs '"'
nuhucation of verse might Interfere wsh MS Pos''""
"A professor Of mathematics. and that nc haa ho ~ih
bt,on to become poet Longellow admired the verses
.na nreasantIy sad that they were 50 good that be
should be quite wiling to see them puoii'heo oNi
his own name In evil hour for ooth OF the'h I'M.
chance suggestion taken up and acted upon' ana
The verse, were published over Longfeno"S haiho'
In a poem on the CLanes River smith aiOer""u ~
corporaed in the the very words WHICH Nc use'
ia persuading Lopgelow to use his poeIn' Iake 'is
idie song from men II the matter had stopped hero
there would have been no cipher. and smith and Long
fellow wuu d have been spared much mental uiS"0''
The poem was popular. Smith wrote again. anu AsaH
r>nof How patlished over his own name the VeiSo'
20 snab Very soon tho time carae when sih,h oesA
a, see that his fame poet might DC oi u'i0 'a
10 him Than bis position professor OF na'oo1n"'7,
md he then suggested 10 Longfeilow the @Vo"~ u
the real author of the poems To THIS L"nsieho
ur,a that the very popularity of the verses MADE
almost impossible to consent to piah which "oN"
Mace him before the public In very unenviaoe nen
aud thai tho ruin which 1t would bring upon hin'
vond he greater than any beneht when coui" PUSH"
accrue to smith Seeing the serious result 10
of a disc. osure. smith not only agreed u io' NV
matter remain A. was, but also ccnsented 70 pun
llsh such verses he might write In the iuuic "ae'
Ionpfe,low's name. Soon after this be began thi'
$3.50 mo c,nher which incorporates the entire story
I'm the verses feeling confident. think, thai u WOMB
a, some time be decphered. and that he ~ouid then
receive tho credit which Is his duo AM NOT q "0'
In this article to give dew To tbe eiphsr oon00"s
the story thus outlined. have however eA'of'o'
from my publishers their unwilling consent 10 uy
showing something of It's simplicity ana c's'n''NNo
by a single illustration. On page 60 OF Tie oseoou
consecutive lines Of the poem which appear on us
r,rs tho rord aIong' twice repeated ana captaiIoo'
Mutpiying the number of the page t6' oy Two i"0e
gives Us 26O and 9th line OF the |oolh page "
ma these remarkable words emphasized ny P"o'""
marks ..strke here" From the letters OF inc 's'So
In which these occur can be forfnod inc nAi'o
Io,n smith. Even tbis hint may DO sufficient to give
IN a careful reader a cew 10 the ciphor. u"'., :"
Justice 10 my publishers refrain rom further nIu>
,rauon 1 am however permitted to call attention
IN s,ngio limos I'm the poems which point cohciu'NoS
IN the dark mystery which Is hidden In them
Ann nrs, IL must DO observed that after few
mems written for obscure periodicals anu aun"as
and all of them published before be was nineteen years
of arc Mr. nge low for nearly ten years gave nio'
self almost entirely the prose form. hoeeo nc
wrote hume from Europe, where he was uaVeiihs
Tor n mart Of that tne MY poetic career IL finished
since 1 lett America have hardly put two lines 10
psberp his note book and lis letters indca'e tDa'
his schemes for literary production looked o'S'oiy
IA prose Is IL probable that his poetic facu'' oo"
have Numbered during uose years, the most Poc'0
and imaginative of 1fel II was when be iouho MN
self established In what promised TO be permanent
position in Harvard College that he turned again 10
noetrv WIN Because It was here and on account
No bis postion In the college, that John smith showed
10 hi hs verses.
In the "Psalm of Life" first find one OF those
striking lines which suggest To the reader the thoughl
n mystery buried In the poems II was IN TINS poei
,hoJ smith seems first to have determined upon
making himself known, though here We get oniy
yague hint Probably he was yet undetermined VIVA.
stons To take when he wrote for the fourth line oi
the first verse of that poem, "And things are no'
what they SEEM" This was note Oh "a"e
ater On he endeavored more fully 10 identity nscA
with the verses which be was writing ana ne pro-
cuced over Mr. Longfelows name "Ibe vintage BLACK
smith.n In this remarkable production, pointing 10
~ xhle way IA
as to give an incomplete. but striking description
Of his own personal appearance
"IIs hair Is crisp and black and long.
His face Is like the tan"
Smith il believed TO have had Indian blood In his
veins This win not only account for MS personal
appearance, but II also explains his choice OF MS
s,,n,ect In his long poem "Hiawatha" Equally
rrikinq are these lines In the poem, ITO Chhd
.stapd,ng beside the blacksmth's door
And hearing the hammers, a. they smos
The anvils with different note,
stole nom tho varying tones, that hung
vibrant on every iron tongue,
The secret Of The sounding wfres
Ana formed the seven-chorded Tyre"
,hs story Of Iythagorss stealing varying tones rom
sac smith Enthusiastically aludes 10 Mr. Lohgieho"s
use OF Mt smiths verses.
n.su tie blacksmith, is one Of the characters In
.Evaneeiine" 1t IL remarkable how many illusions
10 smiths one In Longienow's verse In The hrs'
cap,o OF .Evangellnc" these lines occur:
.,iapr,eI LaIeunosse the of Bash the BLACKSMITH
Who was a mighty man In the village and honorea
Of all men;
For since the birth Of time, through all ages ana
nations,
Has the craft Of the smith been held in repute Of the
people"
The last two lines must attracted the attention
II many curious readers. As they stand, they are
meaningless and untrue So far from the craft OF the
smith being he'd In repute through all ages and nations
we Rpow very wen that he Is, In our day. OF no moro
social standing the carpenter or the mason; thai
Ina,ans ana that many ages and nations have been
Ignorant Of it, as Mr.. Longfsliow must have known
Mat IA hero meant By "tho craft OF the smith =
what but another aiuson the TACT that John smith
was the author OF the poems The Graft VI the
smith" Is art OF the poet, which Is truly thIousn